NIGHTMARE WORLD AND LOVE STORIES TO DIE FOR COME TO DEVIL'S DUE

2016 is looking like a great year for Dirk Manning fans. He's currently tearing through a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of the volume 3 hardcover. The Tales of Mr. Rhee publisher, Devil's Due Entertainment has announced that it's furthering its relationship with Manning with the release of some of his previous horror work, specifically Nightmare World and Love Stories to Die For, coming later this year. I had a chance to talk with Manning recently where he dropped some of these details already.

Nightmare World was originally published online via Shadowline before being collected in three trade paperbacks from Image Comics. That wasn't the full story though as a fourth volume was never released. It presented an overarching story of a Lovecraftian apocalypse told through a number of vignettes from a variety of different artists. This is where Mr. Rhee debuted before spinning into his own series.

Love Stories to Die For was published in a similar manner. It blended romance with horror with some twist endings that made for great reads. The collection will feature a new cover by Nei Ruffino.

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“When it came time to double-down on taking all my digital comics to print in some nice, definitive bookshelf worthy collections, Devil’s Due quickly emerged as the publisher who best matches my own approach to creating comics,” Manning stated. “My goal is to release great comics that are different from anything else out there, engage with readers online and through the convention circuit, and use Kickstarter to offer deluxe editions of my books in a way that won’t compete with our supporters in comic shops and the direct market. When I talked to Devil’s Due about my plan, they not only liked it, but also embraced it.”

“Dirk Manning is a force of nature in the underground comic book world, and I don’t know how much longer that world can contain him,” Devil’s Due founder Josh Blaylock added. “For someone who writes such disturbing subject matter, you’ll never see anyone with such a close relationship to their readership (a fanbase that is rapidly growing), and that’s only part of the reason Devil’s Due is taking another step into doing even more with him. We look forward to helping him spread his horror noir across the globe like giant Lovecraftian tentacles.”

The slate for Manning's work for the remainder of the year is as follows: Tales of Mr. Rhee: Volume 3 will drop in September. Nightmare World: Volume 4 and the hardcover omnibus collection will arrive in October. No specific release date has been provided for Love Stories to Die For just yet.

James has a 2nd grade reading level and, as a result, only reads books with pictures. Horror is his 5th favorite genre right after romantic comedy and just before silent films. No one knows why he's here, but he won't leave.